Johns Hopkins 2020

[HopFan16]

GOOD:

- The offense needed to run through Cole with Epstein out, and he rose to the challenge. Looked terrific in all facets
- DeSimone hat trick. Scored three different ways (on six shots): 1) Off-ball cut on crease 2) Swim dodge/unassisted 3) Feet set from range. Kid is back
- Degnon can shoot the rock
- Both FOGOs looked good
- Give Darby credit, had a solid overall game. Still worried about shots to his off-stick side.
- Zinn is in for a big year
- Lyne a very pleasant surprise on close D. Thought he was hurt again. He looked excellent, hope stays healthy
- Colwell had a great game
- Murphy playing with confidence
- Jaronski is a player
- Settled 6v6 defense was solid. I think Towson only had 2-3 goals there, and one of them was the weird broken stick play
- 15 goals without Epstein against a good D—I'll take it. Offense is deeper than you'd have thought at the end of 2019
- 4-0 fourth quarter to put the game out. Love to see that. Answered Towson's run with a bigger one of their own

NO BUENO:
- Really hope Concannon is ok
- Clears were interesting at times
- Not much of a ride
- General sloppiness—I suppose to be expected for the first game with so many new faces in important roles
- Non faceoff GBs were meh
- They seemed to figure out the Towson zone D a little bit eventually... but it took quite awhile.
- Koby Smith for Towson is quite the player, that said, transition D needs work. They looked unprepared for his ability to take the ball up the field and that should have been very something they scouted and put in the game plan

Still don't know what to think of this group of shorties so not putting them in either of the categories above. Hubler did have 5 GBs.

A good start, but that was all—a start. Still questions that need answering. Hoping Epstein is healthy soon. We're onto Loyola.

[jhu06]

Up
-Darby/Connor-big bounce back games from them
-zinn/williams/prouty delivered. Towson had two fogos especially the second who'd played sparingly but he and narewski delivered.
-degnon, produced. Those of you who raved about him were right.
-coaching staff. Aside from benson struggling w/the towson zone, they played most of the game w/a lot of faces in new lineup spots and won. You look at last years game and jones, kuuuhn, foley, marr, epstein, rapine, concannon, keough, cattoni were all gone from what they had last time.
-man down stepped up, towson had a chance early when it was 3-1.

Down
-Smith was one of the key knowns and yet he single handedly kept them in the game.
-too many turnovers.

Others
-concannon was in street clothes after the hit. Not a good sign. Hope he's able to come back. If not these are big opportunities for mabett and stagnitta.
-Really hard to asses the d player by player. Lilly 6'5 DiPietro 6'2 Glassmeyer 6'1 this is a bigger ssdm unit than we've seen.
-Felt like we got a few more calls than towson.
-we've always had some strong outside shooters. Fraser, Marr, Wharton. Not clear yet who can do that consistently this year.
-That was about as physical a first game of the season I've seen. Towson breaking our ssdms stick, another guy knocked dipietro into our zone like a tackle dummy, the hit on the towson fogo and a few others.
-lax reference had us at 9percent to make the ncaa tournament w/a loss 33 percent with a win.
-some years you come in and there aren't many spots open, but they really rotated and a lot of guys got meaningful field action today.

[houndace1]

GOOD:

- The offense needed to run through Cole with Epstein out, and he rose to the challenge. Looked terrific in all facets
- DeSimone hat trick. Scored three different ways (on six shots): 1) Off-ball cut on crease 2) Swim dodge/unassisted 3) Feet set from range. Kid is back
- Degnon can shoot the rock
- Both FOGOs looked good
- Give Darby credit, had a solid overall game. Still worried about shots to his off-stick side.
- Zinn is in for a big year
- Lyne a very pleasant surprise on close D. Thought he was hurt again. He looked excellent, hope stays healthy
- Colwell had a great game
- Murphy playing with confidence
- Jaronski is a player
- Settled 6v6 defense was solid. I think Towson only had 2-3 goals there, and one of them was the weird broken stick play
- 15 goals without Epstein against a good D—I'll take it. Offense is deeper than you'd have thought at the end of 2019
- 4-0 fourth quarter to put the game out. Love to see that. Answered Towson's run with a bigger one of their own

NO BUENO:
- Really hope Concannon is ok
- Clears were interesting at times
- Not much of a ride
- General sloppiness—I suppose to be expected for the first game with so many new faces in important roles
- Non faceoff GBs were meh
- They seemed to figure out the Towson zone D a little bit eventually... but it took quite awhile.
- Koby Smith for Towson is quite the player, that said, transition D needs work. They looked unprepared for his ability to take the ball up the field and that should have been very something they scouted and put in the game plan

Still don't know what to think of this group of shorties so not putting them in either of the categories above. Hubler did have 5 GBs.

A good start, but that was all—a start. Still questions that need answering. Hoping Epstein is healthy soon. We're onto Loyola.

watched this game for the first hour before moving to Loyola-UVA game, Kept tabs during commercials of that game to come back to this.

Loyola looked very very rusty in completing passes. A lot of questionable decisions to jam the ball inside. lots of unforced turnovers by the team ( and i really do mean unforced as they either airmailed passes, dropped the ball from their stick, or threw softballs to UVA defenders).

That being said- they won the FO battle against LaSalla of UVA, they were decent on clears, and they hit the heck out of UVA players on rides and Groundball scrums. This team might not be as talented but they sure can scrap and put together some goals.

Family will be split on who to vote for next saturday. Should be an interesting game.

[jhu72]

Hard to complain about anything in this game. First game of the season and playing everyone - or nearly so without your best player. Defense and goal were both very good. Towson scored the majority of their seven goals on fast breaks, 4 IIRC. Jays 6 on 6 was excellent. Darby's allowed goals were understandable and he largely saved what he should have. Some stupid freshman mistakes - who cares? Welcome back Connor Desimone.

[primitiveskills]

Some good observations here. A couple of other things:
- Will be hard to keep Murphy off the field. Ability to initiate from X and finish from range is a dangerous combo, and having as many as 4 guys on the field who can initiate, draw a slide and finish (Epstein, Williams, Zinn, Murphy) will be very difficult to defend.
- Best team D we've seen in awhile. SSDM play looks much improved, and it seems like communication is really good.Terrible slides have unfortunately been a feature the last few years, but few, if any, today.

[Jhu99]

Where does Forry Smith fit into the offense when Epstein comes back?

[molo]

Who knows when he’ll be back? Also, what Concannon? If Epstein comes back and Concannon is out, I would imagine Smith and Williams stay at attack along with Baskin/Murphy, who today switched between attack and midfield when Concannon left. If both Epstein and Concannon were to return one of the three—Murphy, Smith, or Baskin—plays attack while the other two become middies. Against Loyola, I would except to see the grouping that finished today’s game.

[Big Dog]

Am I the only one who is not impressed with the new Jay logo on the helmet? (looks like Woody Woodpecker....)

[HopFan16]

For those wondering what happened to his hair, Cole said he has alopecia. Petro joked he looks better now than he used to.

Does not elaborate on Epstein's status beyond "day to day" but if you read between the lines (plus the fact that he was dressed today), seems like his return is not far off. It's great to get some of the younger guys involved in the mean time.

Great point primitiveskills re: Murphy—I had assumed Angelus might be the "replacement" for Epstein behind the cage but maybe it's actually Murphy. His dodge/goal at GLE looked like the spitting image of Epstein. And should have had a second on an outside rip that absolutely obliterated the crossbar.

Lyne is a great story. Fingers crossed he stays healthy. I wonder if he's planning on using his remaining years of eligibility. Ceiling is through the roof with that size and athleticism. The close defense is super long and rangy this year. But they'll likely only go as far as the shorties and goalie take them. For one day, at least, they executed.

Should be a good game next weekend up the street.

[molo]

Preliminary forecast for next week's game: sunny with a high of 36. Now we're talking February lax!

[Drcthru]

Am I the only one who is not impressed with the new Jay logo on the helmet? (looks like Woody Woodpecker....)

That's Neil A Grauer(Class of '69)'s gift to Hopkins

[51percentcorn]

Random thoughts:
- Defense looks longer and leaner than past recent editions - it's only one game but it makes you wonder what Hopkins and Lyne missed with his injuries. Two weeks ago he was on crutches.
- DeSimone's 2nd goal looked more like freshman Connor - hope it continues
- Without Smith Towson might not have reached 4 goals - a game where the 20-26 F/O stats really made a difference
- Petro was about ready to do bodily harm (exaggeration) to Zinn for some of the decisions
- Murphy and Degnon have to be big pieces going forward
- Just got done watching UVA/Loyola - even on the short end the rumors of Loyola's demise is greatly exaggerated - while many of the shots were from less than optimal angles - Rode made something like 20 saves. UVA has talent falling out of you know where - hard to believe Shellenberger is likely to redshirt
- Darby has to play reasonably well next week

OH BTW - maybe he reads this thread because Hopkins all-time #1 fan was much more tolerable today. He only blew a gasket once or twice when he thought Hans W. missed a couple Tiger offsides and an alien would not have made much notice. Let's hope it continues

[jhu08]

GOOD:

Thanks 16, for the great analysis. Keep up the good work!

[DocBarrister]

Hard to complain about anything in this game. First game of the season and playing everyone - or nearly so without your best player. Defense and goal were both very good. Towson scored the majority of their seven goals on fast breaks, 4 IIRC. Jays 6 on 6 was excellent. Darby's allowed goals were understandable and he largely saved what he should have. Some stupid freshman mistakes - who cares? Welcome back Connor Desimone.

Difficult to recall a better opening game for the Blue Jays in the past decade. Hopkins has speed, size, and athleticism all over the field. Loved the physicality of the D. Terrific contributions from both freshmen and returning players getting their first taste of extended playing time. We’re even seeing some hints that this Blue Jay squad has real depth at just about every position.

SSDMs looked good today. Very solid, and they never looked physically overmatched.

Prouty and Narewski may be one of the better faceoff tandems in the nation.

Connor DeSimone nearly matched his entire 2019 goal output in a single quarter. As another poster mentioned, he scored in three very different ways ... on the crease, from range, and with a gorgeous swim dodge from behind the net that I don’t think he would have even tried last season. New season, new DeSimone.

Cole Williams should have cut his hair a long time ago. He might be in for a monster season. His hat trick was impressive, but his four assists were eye opening. Teams can’t just double team him anymore and expect to come away unscathed.

Blue Jays will need to work on their transition defense, obviously, but the D looked good today. Seemed like we had a half-dozen guys who could play close D, and Reinson and Jaronski look solid at LSM.

Darby still looks vulnerable to the high heat, but you can’t argue with a 61% save percentage. Quint K, who was pretty active around the net when he was the Blue Jays’ All-American goalie, seemed pleased with Darby’s caused turnover. Blue Jays will need to get a little better on their clears.

Degnon, Murphy, and Glassmeyer are going to make important contributions this season.

Finally, I feel for Giacalone, but it was good to see him get some playing time and a save in the closing minutes of the game.

Hopkins will not be an easy out for any opponent. This Blue Jay squad has the potential for a very special season.

DocBarrister

P.S. Did I mention Zinn and Epstein? Seems Zinn’s healthy again. Epstein should be given all the time he needs to heal fully. We need Epstein in May, not February.

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

Hmmmmmmm...these guys look really good. What's up with that?

Sometime abnormalities, like an injured captain, can be big benefits.

Loved Cole's no look passes, he's going to have a big year.

Desimone looked like a different and matured player for sure. I was impressed by his presence and play.

I agree, Degnon and Murphy are going to need to be a part of the puzzle every week. Today was my first look at Murphy, and I'm a big fan.

[Sagittarius A*]

Where does Forry Smith fit into the offense when Epstein comes back?

I think Forry stays at attack. Joey and Forry worked great together down the stretch last year. An attack of Epstein, Smith, and Williams would be formidable.

I loved the midfields yesterday. Zinn, Degnon, Mabbett, plus DeSimone is back. Wow! Awesome! Night and Day from last year.
I loved the ssdms. Terrific SIZE there. Something we've been needing for years. Again, kudos, Awesome! Night and Day difference.

QK clearly reads our board. He started off with comments to make us furious. Something to the effect of "Coach P is showing loyalty to his goalie from last year...." Then he flatly contradicted himself later by saying (paraphrasing) "...there's been a lot of concern about who should play in goal this year....trust me, the coaches know what they are doing...if they can do anything to get even the slightest edge, they're going to play the best player...etc.."

Last year Darby was fine against mid-majors like Delaware etc, but against any kind of good offense he was a sieve. Towson lost a ton of firepower from last year. Maybe he squeaks by Loyola next week, but he still can't stop outside shots. UNC, SU, MD, PSU, Rutgers are going to light him up. It's like in baseball, if there's a pitch you can't hit, that's all you're going to see. You can't hit a curve ball? Forget it. Same thing here. The Jays can't expect to win 75% Faceoffs against top teams. I hope the coaching staff has a quick hook this year, because last year they had a slow hook and it pretty much cost them the season. I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is the biggest question mark hanging over the season moving forward. I hope Mr. Epstein gets back into action soon.

[Sagittarius A*]

Blue Jays will need to work on their transition defense, obviously, but the D looked good today. Seemed like we had a half-dozen guys who could play close D, and Reinson and Jaronski look solid at LSM.

Jaronski gets my vote for freshman of the year.

[HopFan16]

Blue Jays will need to work on their transition defense, obviously, but the D looked good today. Seemed like we had a half-dozen guys who could play close D, and Reinson and Jaronski look solid at LSM.

Jaronski gets my vote for freshman of the year.

A bit early for statements like this but I like the confidence...I've been trying to hint to you guys for months that Jaronski is the real deal. The kid plays with an edge. Also good on the refs for letting that (legal) hit go without a flag.

Watched some of the game back again this morning. Lyne really did play very well in his first career start. Looking way ahead obviously but I hope he's back next year as he's got #1 cover guy type potential.

[51percentcorn]

I think Forry stays at attack. Joey and Forry worked great together down the stretch last year.

Yes when Smith played mid-field

DeSimone is back.

While it is rather remarkable he achieved 75% of his 2019 goal output in about 8-10 minutes of the very first game - let's be like the guy eating his cereal in the GEICO commercial and "pump the brakes". The second goal was potentially significant IMO, if he can repeat a variety of aggressive dodges against shortsticks he will have a successful season to a degree. It was Murphy who made the great play on his first goal and the third was savable - it wasn't like Ryan Brown or Wharton put a hole in the net. Don't get me wrong - I am very happy he scored 3 goals and having Zinn pose a threat with his speed and thus likely draw the pole should put Connor in good situations let's wait and see a little bit.

I hope the coaching staff has a quick hook this year, because last year they had a slow hook and it pretty much cost them the season.

This is nonsense. While I think no one can argue that a goalie that saves 43% over the course of the season played really well - Darby and Petro's failure to change goalies hardly "cost" them the season.

I thought Rome was "burning"?

[BlueJaySince1947]

Am I the only one who is not impressed with the new Jay logo on the helmet? (looks like Woody Woodpecker....)

Rather silly I would opine...